Istock ballotbox 02

America's Voting Rights

  • Nevada Ratifies the 15th Amendment

    Nevada Ratifies the 15th Amendment

    The 15th Amendment gave African Americans the right to vote. Nevada was the first state to ratify the amendment.
    Natoinal Archrives
  • 19th Amendment Gets Ratified

    19th Amendment Gets Ratified

    The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. In the Constitution, this gave all women the right to vote. But in reality, it only gave it to white women.
    RockTheVote
  • Indian Citizenship Act

    Indian Citizenship Act

    The Indian Citizens Act declared all non-citizen Indians born in US territory, US citizens. This also gave them the right to vote.
    Minnesota Secretary of State
  • Ratification of the 24th Amendment

    Ratification of the 24th Amendment

    The 24th Amendment abolishes poll taxes. Poll taxes were created to keep African Americans from being able to vote. So, with the elimination of them, many more African Americans could vote.
    Ronald Reagn
  • Freedom Summer

    Freedom Summer

    The Freedom Summer was a volunteer campaign that attempted to register as many African-American voters as possible. Not very many people were able to register, but this had a significant effect on the Civil Rights Movement.
    National Archives
  • African Americans gain more rights with the Voting Rights of 1965

    African Americans gain more rights with the Voting Rights of 1965

    The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War. These practices included things such as literacy tests.
    Briticana.com
  • Voting Age is Lowered with 26th Amendment

    Voting Age is Lowered with 26th Amendment

    The 26th Amendment states that people 18 years of age can legally vote. Previously, you had to be 21 years old to vote.
    Constitution Center
  • Alice Paul Dies

    Alice Paul Dies

    Alice Paul played one of the biggest roles in the passing of the 19th Amendment. To help it get passed, she wrote the Equal Rights Amendment of 1923.
    Alice Paul Institute
  • Help America Vote Act

    Help America Vote Act

    The Help America Vote Act required all states to offer a provisional ballot for people whose names weren't on the voter list. A provisional ballot is used to record a vote when there are questions about a given voter's eligibility that must be resolved before the vote can be counted.
    eac.gov
  • Military and Overseas Empowerment Act

    Military and Overseas Empowerment Act

    This law requires that states allow members of the United States Uniformed Services and merchant marine, their family members, and United States citizens living outside the United States to register and vote absentee in elections for Federal offices. This means they don't have to vote in person.
    Department of Justice